Alfie Penney has been qualified as a personal trainer for two years and has always been a keen athlete.
But this challenge, which he described as ‘cruel, brutal and evil’, was one of the most physically and mentally demanding workouts he has done.
As well as the blisters and aching joints, he had to psych himself up each day before taking on something he knew was going to be incredibly hard.
‘Some days I’d sit and look at my shoes for 20 minutes before plucking up the courage to get out and do it,’ he said.
Mr Penney was inspired to take on an active fundraising challenge after watching adventurer and ultra-marathon sea swimmer Ross Edgeley’s documentary when he swam around Britain.
When it came to selecting a charity, it was an easy choice.
‘I lost my mum to cancer so I wanted to support a charity that does so much to support individuals and families through one of their toughest times,’ the 21-year-old said.
He chose 10 exercises, ranging from sit-ups and squats to Russian twists and jumping lunges.
Each day in September he set about completing 100 reps of each of the 10 movements.
‘I gave it a go in summer, and it took me an hour and 45 minutes and I was sick after it,’ he said.
‘So I gave myself a month to get ready for it and made the commitment to do it for the 30 days of September.’
Three exercises were particularly brutal – burpees, pull-ups and pike press-ups. ‘There’s no slacking and no hiding with those ones,’ he said.
But knowing he was raising money for a cause so close to home got him through it every single day.
‘I got my time down to just under an hour, and then it started going back up when I was playing around with the different exercises and seeing if I could make them any harder.’
Sometimes a friend or family member would join him for one of the workouts, and would leave saying it was hands-down the most difficult workout they had ever done.
‘It’s great though, I’ve got a real sense of achievement and have managed to raise over £3,000 for Pink Ladies.
The total as of yesterday was £4,203. ‘It made it easy to think ‘come on you can’t give up’, when you’re doing it for that reason.’
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